


In Sickness

by anstaar



Series: when the door opens [3]
Category: Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Genre: Child Death, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-30
Updated: 2011-06-30
Packaged: 2017-10-20 21:31:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/217289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anstaar/pseuds/anstaar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aral's sister died before Yuri's massacre</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Sickness

Vera was sick. Aral heard her: dry coughs mixed with sobs and their mother's soothing voice. Late at night, he pulled his blankets over his head and pushed the pillow down over his ears but he still heard the endless coughing grating against the edges of his mind. Tolya had just arrived back from school (it wasn't a holiday) and he stood at the doorway to their sister's room, still wearing his uniform and looking far too old. Later, he came and built a for on Aral's bed even though he had said he was too old for forts after he had gone away to start learning how to defend _real_ forts. Their father-the-Count wasn't there but Tolya said he called late at night and talked for a long, long time.    
  
Tolya said that Vera could get better. He said he remember back when Aral was young and how he had gotten sick too (not as bad, not as long) and now he was fine. He said that babies get sick and then better all the time because they were adjusting to the world and are still weak, like how Vera wasn't running around everywhere fighting off invaders, like Aral did, so that didn't have to get too worried (Vera was always sick, Aral didn't have many memories of her getting better). Tolya smiled and stood tall and showed Aral how to make a _proper_ andwich. They ate outside and Aral could see the graveyard, generations of Vorkosigans.    
  
Aral asked, "is Vera going to die?"  
  
Tolya was quiet for a long time before he spoke, "She could. Everyone dies Ari." He stared bleakly across the grounds and Aral realized he had never noticed how much his brother looked like their father before.  
  
"What would it be like?"  
  
Tolya blinked and came back to himself, "You remember when gran died and we burned offerings and sometimes we do it again so we can remember her and she will think of us? It would be like that, almost."   
  
"Not that bit," Aral clarified, "I meant would there be blood and...stuff." He remembered the curly haired man and how sick he'd felt the next time he's seen his cousin's laughing face framed by curls and how'd he gone and watched Vera sleep peacefully in her crib back when she hadn't coughed and couldn't sleep.  
  
"No" Tolya said, looking very sad, "no blood."


End file.
